Sergio FitzGibbon

Though this 2005 film directs viewers away from the traditional setting of the American West and instead takes place in Australia, The Proposition very much feels in line with what we expect from Westerns with an added sense of grittiness and brutality thrown into the mix. What adds to the wariness is the fact that Rockstar - a Take-Two Interactive subsidiary - had originally intended on releasing DLC for _ GTA V’s _ story mode, which never actually came to fruition. Then, when asked about the planned release of the DLC during a 2015 earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick stated that story-based DLC was never discussed. In 2017, Rockstar finally shed some light on the lack of story-mode DLC, when Director of Design, Imran Sarwar, stated that, "it was not really a conscious decision, it’s just what happened." Sarwar went on to state, "At Rockstar, we will always have bandwidth issues because we are perfectionists and to make huge complex games takes a lot of time and resources. Not everything is always possible, but we still love single-player Open World Games Money Guide-world games more than anything." The latter sentence gives some hope that _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ will receive the attention and treatment that it rightfully deserves, but while any game is in development, the mention of studio "bandwidth issues" is sure to send shivers down gamers’ spiRockstar has such a great opportunity to deliver a tale that is bathed in more of a classic period piece than a ritzy Hollywood do over. If the game looks anything like what the teaser presented, they just might deliver that game. It seemed calm yet brooding. It seemed slower, while being thoughtful. The posse of men on horseback seen in the trailer is fitting for the time. It was stupid to travel alone through the wilderness of America, and cowboys relied on each other for not only companionship, but the journey ahead. My mind keeps wandering to The Magnificent Seven though and I can’t shake that this is what might be showcased. A band of cowboy bandits causing all sorts of mayhem in a sort of Magnificent Seven bizarro world. The previous two games were great because the stories encountered seemed real; the characters seemed like real people dealing with personal qualms that had nothing to do with me. It’s the reason I loved the Witcher 3, the world didn’t care about the player, but if I could stop and help, I’d go for it. Otherwise, time to hit the dusty trail.Unfortunately, one key component to Red Dead Redemption 2 I have difficulty getting into is the controls. The controls are similar to the typical Rockstar open world formula (at least Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption), with a thousand different actions being assigned to a handful of buttons. This is a mechanical marvel with all the different systems at play, from gunplay, horseback riding, hand-to-hand combat, character interactions and so forth. Controlling Arthur feels loose and stiff at the same time, something I can never put my finger on, and I have a difficult time determining if it’s a good or bad thing. Sometimes it can be frustrating, while other times it can lend to the charm of the game. The gunplay is still top notch, though, with each of the old rifles, pistols and shotguns feeling authentic and enjoyable to fire, especially with the Dead Eye skill. There are a ton of different weapons to obtain, all of which are need to be properly maintained, which somewhat ties into the survival aspect of the game, such as maintaining food intake for both you and your horse.As your main companion that you'll have for the entirety of the game, Red Dead Redemption 2 really brings home the point that your relationship to your horse is important. As your primary mode of transportation and storage (aside from being a loyal companion), your horse will also grow over time with Arthur as you bond with it and can develop its strengths further.Getting back on topic, the problem with the controls is that they can be overly finicky. For example, mounting your horse and strangling a nearby pedestrian are assigned to the same button for whatever reason. Same goes with interacting with an item on the ground and say vaulting over a railing to your death. Throwing dynamite while in cover can also be hazardous as more than often it found itself on the cover in front of us. In addition, dealing with a horse is the biggest pain in the ass than anything else in video games and Red Dead Redemption 2 is no exception. The difference between this and Grand Theft Auto is that your vehicle won’t run away when it hears gunfire, ensuring you fail a mission when you need him. The physics can be a little wonky, too, as we had multiple instances where the horse could easily make a small dip or go over a rock, but instead decided to trip over its own feet, dying in the process once in a while. We even had an instance where it ran into another rider while in the cinematic camera angle (which allows you to put the controller down as the horse gallops to a set destination), something the recipient of the crash was not too happy about. Finally, I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to assign the run button (tapping X) to the horse, but there has to be a better way. As you can see, I’m not a big fan of horses in video games, as it consistently feels like you’re fighting with them, which doesn’t help with the already finicky controls.